by Marty Coleman | Sep 26, 2018 | The American Journey, Trump |
America, Where Art Thou?
Enablers all,
That’s what we are.
Funny not funny,
We made him a star.
We thought it was TV,
Just another show.
Now we’ve learned,
Truth is a foe.
Fake is truth,
Truth is fake.
How much more
Can we take?
A lot more,
is my guess.
Because none of us
Will confess.
Confess our sin
Of apathy,
Or admit our own
pathology.
What disease is that?
you may ask.
Ask someone else,
Is your task.
I can’t be bothered,
I’m busy tonight
at my religion class,
That’ll prove I’m right.
The End
© 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 6, 2018 | Janice Mirikitani, Silence - 2018 |
Ask a gay person who is not out of the closet what it is like and they will likely tell you it’s like being in a prison. I believe the same is likely true for a victim of domestic abuse who hasn’t been able to tell anyone the truth. And someone with a suspect past no one can know about? I bet they feel imprisoned as well. Basically anyone with a secret that they believe will harm them if found out is in that boat. What do they all have in common? Silence. As a matter of fact many people who do break through and tell their story find out it wasn’t the story that imprisoned them, it was the silence.
It seems so counter-intuitive. The fear is that exposure will lead to shame or guilt or condemnation or judgment. But keeping it all secret leads to all those things as well. It’s just that they are all internalized, thrown at you by yourself instead of others. It’s a heavy burden to bear. So, what is the solution?
There are times when it’s wise to stay silent about something. Perhaps it would hurt someone else unnecessarily or maybe it would put you in danger. But in many cases the secret is coming so close to destroying you from inside that you must let it out to someone in some way. Maybe a counselor, family member, or even a stranger would be best. But if the choice is between self-destruction and telling a secret, by all means find a way to let the secret out.
It really will turn out to be better on the other side of the wall of silence.
Drawing and commentary © 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Janice Mirikitani, Asian-American Poet
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 17, 2018 | Adventures of Young Medusa |
Medusa Goes to Prom –
Medusa’s big night finally arrived. She was going to prom! She picked up her date, a boy named Rock, at his house. Boy, were his parents surprised! Medusa introduced herself and tried to make them feel comfortable, but they were rather stiff. She made small talk with them, very small talk, while Rock finished getting ready (he had to tie his bow tie 14 times before he got it right).
Rock was scared to go to prom with Medusa but was even more scared of saying no to her. He had heard rumors about what happened to people who crossed Medusa. He held up ok until her hair (which consisted of snakes) loosened up a bit and started slithering over towards him during the prom pictures. He didn’t have a good night after that.
Drawing and story © 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 13, 2018 | Art, I Draw in Church |
This month (Aug, 2018) we had the 45th year reunion of our Darien (Connecticut) High School class of 1973. One of the things we have all been amazed at over the years is how many of us ended up being artists of one sort or another. Some ended up being full-time professional artists, some part-time, but there were many more than you would figure from a class our size (about 300).
Jim Hett talking to a crowd in front of his artwork.
One of our alumnus (and artist), Jim Hett, also has had years of experience in museum work, installing, curating, organizing exhibitions. He took the initiative to organize an exhibition of many of the artists’ work and installed it at the Darien Public Library earlier this month. Even though I wasn’t able to attend I wanted to send some work. I had a small space to work with and I wanted something that would be thought-provoking in a library setting so I chose from my ‘I draw in church’ series. I sent a suite of 9 small framed pieces.
Here are pictures from the exhibition. Following those are the individual images.
Exhibition at the Darien Public Library
‘I Draw in Church’
‘I Draw in Church – Jan the Baptist’ | Ink on Paper | 2017
‘I Draw in Church – The Divine Calculator’ | Ink on Paper | 2018
‘I Draw in Church – Mary Magdalena’ | Ink on Paper | 2017
The following three drawings were done in an actual bible. It was given to me in 1997 and I stopped using it to draw in around 2001. I don’t know the specific dates I drew each of these images but I added color to all of them in 2018.
‘I Draw in Church – I Am Not Who I Appear To Be’ | Ink on Bible | 1997 – 2018
This drawing includes a poem I wrote.
I am not who
I appear to be.
You see beauty,
I see me.
I see me as
Far and away.
Helpless, hopeless,
Nowhere to stay.
I see me with
Aching bones,
Sagging skin and
Spiritual groans.
I see me as
Selfish and mean,
Trite and hateful,
Enviously green.
If you see me,
Truly you will know
My beauty proves
I don’t reap what I sow.
‘I Draw in Church – Thought in the Back of Her Mind’ | Ink on Bible | 1997 – 2018
‘ I Draw in Church – Prayers of a Pursed-Lipped Person’ | Ink on Bible | 1997 – 2018
These three drawings (one, ‘The Violinist’, is not pictured individually but you can see the image in the group picture above) do not include any words though one does still have thought bubbles. It’s just that there are images in the bubbles instead of words.
I Draw in Church – The Bible Reader | Ink on Paper | 2014
‘I Draw in Church – What They Thought’ | ink on paper | 2016-2018
(One piece is missing, ‘The Violinist’. I thought I had scanned it and had it in digital form but I haven’t been able to find it so I suspect I didn’t actually scan it.)
I’ve drawn in church since about 1980, probably because I started using sketchbooks small enough to carry into the building. When I tell people I do this often times I get the question, do people in church think that is rude? And here is the funny thing, while I have no doubt some do indeed think it is rude, not one time in close to 40 years has anyone ever said that to me directly. As a matter of fact most people who do talk to me about it are enthusiastic to see what I have drawn and want to know more about why I drew what I drew. This includes pastors, past and present, who sometimes are aware that I draw. The pastor at the church I currently attend will, on occasion, want to see my sketchbook, curious about what’s drawn my attention and how I may have interpreted a sermon or message. At least he knows when my head is facing down I am not asleep, just looking at my sketchbook!
Drawings © 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 11, 2018 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Which Way?
Yesterday I was leading our running group in warm ups. I mentioned we were going to run a certain stretch of the route at the end and that I wanted them to do a certain thing during that. One of my coaches spoke up and said, “We aren’t doing that stretch of road on the route.” I looked at her map and sure enough, not only were we not doing that part, the part close to it that we were doing was at the beginning of the run, not the end. I had read the map backwards out of habit, thinking we would run clock-wise around the neighborhood as usual instead of counter-clockwise as the map showed. So, that was figured out.
Force of Habit
We finish the warm up and off I go with my lead group. What do I do? I go the wrong way. Even though I read the map, heard the coach say we were supposed to go in a certain direction, it had all flew right out of my mind like so many balloons drifting off into the atmosphere. I just defaulted to what I was used to and went in the clock-wise direction. It was not until I was about a mile into the run that I realized it.
Poof
Of course, it really wasn’t a big deal. We were going to get to the water stop and back to the store perfectly fine. We even passed the groups that had gone the right way as we hit the water stop. But it shows how easy it is for thoughts and ideas to just disappear out of you one’s head and into the ether.
And that is why I try to make a habit of writing things down as often as I can!
Drawing and commentary © 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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by Marty Coleman | Jul 10, 2018 | I Draw in Church |
Who Decides God?
Who decides if God exists or doesn’t, is connected or disconnected from humanity, is male, female, non-binary or something else, is three in one, 747 in one, or one in one?
Who decides if everything happens for a reason, just some things, or no things?
Who decides if God in on the side of a certain race, creed, state, nationality, governmental process, or language?
Who decides what religious laws or rules you have to obey, what restrictions you have on yourself with food, drink, exercise, clothing, makeup, hair style, tattoos and piercings?
Who decides what writings are from God or not, which religion is right or not?
Who decides if God made males superior to females or females superior to males, approves of gay marriage or does not, approves of sex before marriage or not?
The answer to every question is ‘you decide’. Even if you believe in the inerrant word of God, taking the bible literally, it’s YOU who decide to believe that. Not your mother, not your father, not your priest or pastor. You decide.
God is up to you.
Drawing and commentary © 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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